


Hard (power)

by BiUnicorn



Category: Supergirl (TV 2015)
Genre: Angst, F/F, Fluff, Hurt/Comfort, Implied/Referenced Torture, Lena Luthor Finds Out Kara Danvers is Supergirl, Lena Luthor Needs a Hug, Violence, the President is evil
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-03-07
Updated: 2019-05-29
Packaged: 2019-11-13 14:54:38
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 5
Words: 8,189
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18033824
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/BiUnicorn/pseuds/BiUnicorn
Summary: Lena and Alex are planning to discover the President's intentions when so many things go wrong. In the middle of the crisis, secrets comes to light and the past is revealed.





	1. tension

**Author's Note:**

> Hello folks, it's me, your friendly neighbour BiUnicorn
> 
> I wrote this because i'm super (heh) anxious about this season of Supergirl.
> 
> English isn't my native language, so all mistakes are mine.
> 
> Enjoy!

Kara clenched her fists and slammed the door in James's face, practically kicking him out of her apartment. The man snorted and turned his back, walking down the hallway with an arrogant stance, while inside the apartment, Kara dialed for Lena's contact urgently. She wasn’t happy with Lena's involvement with DEO, especially when she discovered that her friend, in whom she trusted her life, was using Harun El in experiments.

But that didn’t matter, Kara wouldn’t let James end Lena's life because of it. James was no longer the same as he had been years ago, he wasn’t the same friend she could turn to for advice. And Lena... Well, Lena was still Kara's best friend and, inevitably, the person Kara was in love with.

The twenty minutes that led to Lena's arrival were enough to calm Kara to the point of breaking nothing when she remembered James. Kara opened the door and Lena came in hesitantly.

"You looked worried on the phone. What happened?"

Kara sighed and motioned for Lena to sit on the couch beside her.

"I need to warn you about James..." Kara continued as a confused expression formed on Lena's face. "He allowed an investigation to begin on you and your experiments with Harun El."

Lena's eyes widened in an expression of terror and guilt.

"He can’t do that!" Lena got up and sighed in exasperation. "I know I've broken Supergirl's trust by conducting experiments with the substance she's asked me to destroy, but what I'm doing can save many lives."

"It can be dangerous in the wrong hands... So why give up your research to the government?"

Lena paused in bewilderment. In a matter of seconds her stance changed and the CEO looked irritated. She knew full well the reasons for being involved with the government, especially after the conversation with Alex in the laboratory earlier. She needed to be inside to collect evidence, to keep anything tragic from happening. If she had to sacrifice her friendship with Kara to protect her, she would.

"Why do you care?" She asked coldly, causing Kara to swallow. "What I do or don’t do in my company is not your problem, and it shouldn’t be James's if he intends to continue commanding Catco. I don’t need your approval to get on with my business."

Lena snapped, it was what she did when something threatened her. Kara knew this, knew the woman very well in front of her, but that didn’t make her feel any less hurt by Lena's reaction.

A silence settled in the room. The tension was palpable, after all, it was one of the few times Kara saw Lena raise her voice.

"I understand..." Kara muttered, not looking at Lena, getting up and walking to the door. "I'm sorry for annoying you."

Lena looked down, regretting being so harsh. Kara opened the door, imagining that Lena would leave the apartment without saying a word, leaving that situation hanging between them. The Luthor walked to the door, closing it and standing in front of Kara, unsure of what to say. She sighed and finally met Kara's blue eyes, remembering someone else with the same shade of blue in her eyes.

"Kara, I'm sorry." Lena stared at Kara, whose teary eyes stared at Lena expectantly.

"Everyone is trying to tell me what to do and I can’t think straight." Lena pulled away again, running her hands through her hair, sighing wearily. "I'm not giving my research to the government, I'm entrusting Brainy with it. Something bad is about to happen and I need to be at DEO to stop it."

Kara returned to the center of the room, taking Lena's wrist and leading her back to the couch.

"Tell me what's going on..." The look on Kara's face was softer, but she was still worried.

"I really can’t tell you right now." Lena stared at her hands, entwined with Kara's on her lap. "It's too risky."

Kara sighed, defeated. She would need other resources to discover the truth. For now, she would be there for her friend.

"Is there anything I can do for you?" Kara finally asked.

"I need to talk to Supergirl." Lena mused, relieved that Kara had been content with the answer.

"I'll let her know."

Lena got up and pointed to the door again. Kara followed, and they both stopped in the hallway, outside the door.

"I'm sorry for being harsh on you, Kara." Lena took her hand up to Kara's arm and stood there, just staring into her friend's eyes.

"Hey..." Kara sighed. "I trust you. My instinct will always be to protect you and I was worried, sorry for pushing you."

Something in Kara's speech aroused a feeling that Lena had long been trying to contain. Lena had never had anyone caring so much about her, someone who really wanted her to be all right. Not until she met Kara. Lena knew she was digging her own grave by feeding this feeling about her friend for so long. Now she just didn’t know what to do with that feeling.

"Come here..." Lena whispered, pulling the taller woman into a tight hug. "You will always be my hero, Kara."

Kara pulled away, one of her arms still around Lena, but the other hand caressing her face. Kara knew full well the risk of this simple gesture, she was afraid not to restrain her desire to kiss Lena at that very moment and ruin her friendship. Lena had already given up thinking. She brought her face closer to Kara's, waited for any sign of reluctance, and not finding it, she went forward and finally kissed Kara.

It was a quick, timid kiss. Lena turned away startled by her own behavior, but she didn’t went too far, feeling Kara's arms firmly around her waist.

"Kara, I..."

"Shh ..." Kara interrupted. "We don’t need to talk about it right now, just do what you wanna do."

With that, Lena advanced again, this time initiating a more intense kiss, where all the feelings contained, until then, finally had the opportunity to be recognized.

"Go out on a date with me..." Kara muttered. Her lips were still dangerously close to Lena's, who stared at her with dilated pupils. "I have liked you for a long time, but I didn’t have the courage to take the initiative. Now..." Kara moved a little farther and touched Lena's face, gently. "You kissed me and I imagine... I wonder if you like me... That way?"

Lena felt as if her heart was leaping out of her chest. She smiled and pulled Kara close again.

"I like you, more than you can imagine." It was Kara's heart turn to shoot, and Lena noticed. "Yes, of course I’ll go on a date with you, darling." Lena kissed Kara's face. "But I have to go now. I need to deal with James and Brainy. "

Kara sighed, remembering the problems.

"I'll make sure Supergirl talks to you tomorrow morning."

"Right."

"And be ready at 7." Kara winked and Lena smiled, finally kissing Kara's lips quickly and leaving her apartment.


	2. I'm in

Supergirl landed on the balcony of Lena's office that morning, eager to see her after last night, but curious about it that Lena didn’t want to discuss with Kara.

"Miss Luthor ..." She said, catching Lena's attention on her desk. "Kara Danvers said you wanted to see me?"

Lena rose to greet the Kryptonian.

"Thanks for coming, Supergirl. I know we have our differences but I have an urgent subject to discuss and I need your help."

Kara nodded, maintaining her hero pose, and Lena motioned for them to sit down.

"I'm afraid you already know that I've conducted experiments with the Harun El..." Lena said hesitantly.

"I'm aware." Kara said with a serious countenance, taking advantage of Supergirl's mask to try to understand the situation.

"The initial plan was to test the substance to cure diseases. It turns out that the healing properties of the Harun El are just the tip of the iceberg. It gives power to humans, but it kills them too." Lena stood up, still the target of Kara's attention. "Somehow our president discovered the details of my research."

"That can’t be good..." Kara muttered.

"It's not good at all." Lena said, searching for a control on her desk. With the press of a button the windows were covered with a layer of metal, which Kara was sure would leave the room soundproof. All the lights went off, as well as computers and other electronic devices, leaving the room lit only by an emergency lamp.

"He wants me to donate my research - and the Harun El - to use on his soldiers. The goal is to eliminate the alien population, certainly use as a tool for hard power, the possibilities are endless. The point is, he took Lockwood out of jail. He can and will easily free Lex and Lillian to join his army."

"I understand your point, I really do." Kara stood up, bringing her hands to her waist. "But how can you be sure?"

"Alex."

With a single word, Supergirl stepped back in shock. Lena raised her eyebrows, folding her arms.

"Colonel Haley had no idea that that satellite would be activated. Alex asked me to check and I found this." Lena took a briefcase from her desk and handed it to Kara.

"What is this?" Kara frowned as she thumbed through the documents.

"Orders signed by the President so that Lex is released."

"Rao..." Kara murmured, paralyzed. "He can’t do that…"

"Yes, he can." Lena picked up the briefcase and tucked it into one of her coffers embedded in the wall.

Kara paced nervously. Two minutes later she finally stopped and sighed in exasperation.

"I have no idea of how I can intervene."

"I still don’t know what our plan will be like, but we'll need allies. And one thing is certain: he can’t let my family out of jail, at all."

"Where does Brainy fits in all of this?"

"I'm destroying all reports and documents about the research. Aside from Eve and me, he will be the only one who will know about this project and its results."

"This is risky." Kara said perplexed. "Are you going to give up your greatest discovery?"

"I thought I would be saving lives with my research, God, Eve was also static, but eventually the opposite extreme happened. I can not allow this to happen. There are innocent people and aliens all over this planet, and they would be annihilated by this technology." Lena broke off, swallowing. "Alex is in danger of knowing this. If anything happens to her or Kara, I won’t be able to forgive myself."

The silence took over the room for a few minutes, Kara didn’t know how to react to so much information. She also couldn’t let Lena take such a risk on her own.

"I'm in." Kara said, breaking the silence. "I'll protect you until we get the evidence, and I won’t let Lex and Lillian be released."

Lena got up and recovered.

"Thank you, Supergirl."

-

As soon as Supergirl left the L-Corp building, Lena grabbed her bag and headed to the parking lot. She needed to get to the DEO and meet Alex. Upon arriving in her car, she noticed a small card on the hood. Reading the two words, Lena began to tremble as panic filled her thoughts.

"I'm coming."

As she reached the door of her car, a pair of hands held her from behind and injected something with a syringe into her neck, making her sleep instantly.


	3. Conversations

Kara left the L-Corp building intrigued. She needed to talk to Alex about this, but as Supergirl, she couldn’t get into DEO and as Kara Danvers, she couldn’t talk about it. Having to hide her identity from Alex, of all people, was the worst experience. It was painful to know that her sister didn’t remember most of her life, everything they shared during the good times in DEO.

On top of that, the threat of Lex and Lillian's release was troubling. Not just for her, but for all the aliens and for Lena. For years Lena was the main target of Lex and her mother, with rent killers, kidnappings and plans for the annihilation of the aliens. Lena was in danger and Kara only knew she needed to protect her.

Flying through National City, another incident with a few followers of the "Elite" caught her attention, a robbery to the bank by an alien. Kara intervened, helping the local police, as usual, until the DEO arrived.

Alex was accompanying an expert, collecting evidence, Kara wanted to approach and discuss the Lena question, but it wasn’t safe there.

Back at Catco, Kara didn’t want to find James, but it was inevitable.

"Kara, hey!" The man ran to catch her in the elevator. "We need to talk."

"I think we said all we needed, yesterday." Kara said skeptically, as the elevator closed with the two inside.

"I know you talked to her, you need to agree that it's not right what she's doing!"

"It's not right you wanting to decide what she does with her life, James! You're not together anymore, and she's an adult who knows what she's doing."

"I don’t believe you will continue to defend after what she did with the Harun-El!"

"It goes way beyond that, James."

The man sighed, pressing the button so the elevator would stop halfway. Kara crossed her arms and glared at him.

"It's because you want her, isn’t it? You think that by doing all her wants and fawning like that she'll give you a chance..."

"Who are you, James?" Kara clenched her fists, containing her anger.

"I'm the guy who finally saw the truth. I'm the guy who was stabbed in the back by his best friend!" James raised his voice and Kara barely restrained the clash with the accusation.

"Don’t you dare accuse me like that, James! All you did was try to control Lena while you were together, your ego was badly hurt by having a woman as your boss at work. So don’t you dare!"

Kara pushed the button again and the elevator moved again. The path to the ground floor was silent and tense. When they finally arrived, Kara grabbed the elevator door and took one last look at James.

"You were not like that, James."

Kara left Catco's building and walked down the sidewalk, trying to calm down after the argument.She thought of ways to help Lena with her plan. She picked up her cell phone, checking for messages from Lena. She was surprised to find no new messages, since they were always talking. Then she called Alex.

"Kara, hey, is everything okay?"

"Uh, yes... I had another argument with James but it's okay..."

"Do you need something?"

Kara walked into Noonans and sat down at her usual table.

"I need a favor, actually... Supergirl wants to talk to you, she contacted me..."

The line was silent for a few seconds.

"Alex?" Kara asked curiously.

"When?"

"Be home at noon and she will appear. She said it's urgent."

"Ok I'll be there."

"Thank you sister!"

"You're welcome, Kara... I need to hang up now."

"Okay, take care!"

Kara arrived at the L-Corp building again, greeting Jess in front of Lena's office.

"I'm sorry Kara, Lena is not here..."

Kara stopped and turned to Jess, confused.

"Oh, any emergency?"

"She said something about meeting an FBI staff, your sister, I believe..."

Kara frowned and shrugged.

"Thank you, Jess!"

"You’re welcome."

Kara nodded and left the building, deciding to go meet Alex as Supergirl. As she stood on the balcony, she realized that Alex was already waiting for her on the inside with her usual position as director.

"Thanks for coming." Supergirl announced her entry. "I talked to Lena earlier today, she told me what's going on."

"Right..." Alex said, sighing. "It's worse than I was imagining... With the documents releasing Lex and Lillian Luthor we have almost no time to act. We need to keep the researchs off, but Lena needs to be inside the DEO so the President won’t release the Luthors any time soon. "

"Tell me what to do. Do you need protection? A protest? I can be convincing." Kara said anxiously. Alex smirked.

"That sounds like something my sister would say."

"Oh..." Kara restrained herself again. "So, what can I do?"

Alex straightened her posture again, pulling something out of her backpack. Kara recognized it immediately.

"You need to take this to a safe place."

"Harun-El..." Kara murmured, astonished.

"Lena had good intentions, but that should never come out of your care."

"I'll take it to a safe place." Kara said, wrapping the stone in a piece of cloth, hiding it underneath her cape.

"Thank you, Supergirl."

"I need to go. If you need anything you can call..." Kara broke off. "Contact me through Kara."

With that, Kara left Alex's apartment. The redhead sat on the couch in exasperation. The weight of that secret was consuming her. She needed to solve this problem as soon as possible. Her cell phone rang shortly.

"Kara? It's all right?"

"Supergirl asked to thank you for your time."

"Oh, of course!"

"Did you see Lena this morning? Jess said she'd be with you."

Alex frowned in confusion.

"No... She never showed up at DEO today."

"Strange... She's not answering me."

Alex got up.

"I'm sure she's fine... She must be in some meeting... I need to go Kara, take care."

Alex hung up the cell phone before Kara could protest and hurried out of her apartment, already trying to contact Lena.

"Shit."

-

Kara stared at her cell phone, stunned, for a few seconds trying to understand Alex. That's when she realized something was wrong.

"Jess? It's me, Kara. Any news from Lena?"

"I couldn’t contact her, today. But she had requested to not be interrupted."

"I need you to check the security cameras, look for something unusual, I'm on my way."

Kara flew as quickly as possible to the L-Corp building, finding Jess concentrated on her desk, analyzing the recordings.

"She should be with Alex but she never got there."

"There is a commotion in the parking lot, look at the screen 4."

The video revealed the moment when Lena was captured. Jess watched, motionless, while Kara clenched her fists, trying to contain herself.

"Send this to Alex, and only to her. I need to go."

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry I couldn't update sooner, college returned yesterday so I'm trying to adjust my schedule.
> 
> Hope y'all like It, all mistakes are Mine.
> 
> Peace out!


	4. fight

Alex was hurrying through the DEO corridors, but she stopped abruptly at the sound of Haley's voice in the conference room.

"Mr President, I can assure you that everything is under control. There is no need to transfer the research out of DEO."

Alex hid behind a wall, listening to the conversation.

"You have 24 hours to do the transfer. My team will be conducting the experiments as soon as Lena Luthor gives in."

"Yes sir." the Colonel said apologetically.

Alex walked again, trying to process the conversation she had heard, even more astonished that the President was in the DEO without announcing it. Trying to distance herself as much as possible, Alex entered a corridor and leaned against the wall, startled by the familiar ringing of her cell phone, indicating a message from Kara.

Opening the message, Alex paralyzed, confirming her suspicions: the President had captured Lena.

"Director Danvers!" The voice caught Alex by surprise, making her jump.

"Sorry, Mr President? What are you doing at the DEO? "Alex quickly regained her posture and stared at the older man.

"Just inspecting our new experiments, personally."

"Of course, I was hoping to find Miss Luthor this morning, but apparently she disappeared." Alex stared at him, hoping to catch some reaction.

"I'm sure Miss Luthor has many important meetings to attend." The President cleared his throat, uncomfortably. "I would also like to discuss some matters with her personally. I hope to see her in a few hours. "

"I'm sure you do." Alex muttered. "I need to go to the training with the recruits. If you need me, I'll be at your service."

"Good work, Director Danvers." The man narrowed his eyes and nodded as Alex hurried down the corridors. He beckoned to one of his security guards and whispered.

"Take her, too."

-

"Alex, I'm saying I won’t rest until Lena is safe!" Kara raised her voice to the phone.

"I understand Kara! I'm worried too, and I'm doing my best, but I won’t let you take the risk!" Alex crossed the hall, heading for the file-room.

"I just need you to give me a clue, an information, anything that can get us to Lena!"

Alex sighed in exasperation.

"You're not going to change my mind. You're not going to get involved in it."

"I can be very convincing." Kara challenged.

"I'm not having this discussion with you. Trust me, I'll bring Lena back." Alex ended the call, frustrated. It was the second time Alex had heard the same sentence that day, coincidentally. Supergirl could be convincing, not Kara.

Upon arriving in the room, Alex began searching for a specific document. Some military deposits were not registered on government servers, but on handwritten documents. Luckily, all the records about National City were stored in the DEO.

"Here it is!" Alex whispered to herself, finding the document she needed. She memorized the data and hurried off to the parking lot. She got on her motorcycle and left as fast as she could.

From the start, she noticed the government car following her. Alex tried to accelerate more, but her follower was also fast. As they entered an alley to clear them, a shot hit the rear tire of the bike, making her shudder and knocked Alex to the ground. The men, Alex recognized them as the President's security guards, got out of the car and approached. Alex tried to move, but excruciating pain pulsed in her leg, leaving her motionless. The men grabbed her by the arms and carried her to the car, wrapping her wrists in handcuffs.

None of Alex's questions were answered by the two guards, nor was the pain in his leg working with the situation, making her tremble with pain.

-

"Brainy, did you see Alex?" Kara asked the moment he and Nia walked into her office.

"No." Brainy stopped walking. "But I saw Colonel Haley in a meeting with the president. She seemed to be bothered about something."

"Alex is not answering me..." Kara tried to call her sister for the fifth consecutive time, with no success. "I need some clue that leads us to Lena."

"You mentioned the president..." Nia turned to Brainy. "If he was responsible then maybe he'll have somewhere around here to take her."

"I know who could help us with that." Kara stared at Brainy.

-

Brainy and Nia headed to the DEO. If anyone could know anything, it would be the Colonel.

"Agent Dox, who is this person?" Colonel Haley stormed into the conference room. "It is expressly forbidden..."

"What were you and the president discussing today?" Nia asked. "Maybe he was giving you orders, maybe warning you about triggering a satellite... What do you think, Brainy?"

"You must know where our President hides his hostages..."

"What are you talking about?" She adjusted her posture and advanced to Brainy.

"So you don’t know? About the plan to create super soldiers and eliminate aliens? About the satellite? Or even better, about the documents signed for the release of Lex and Lillian Luthor? Tell him you knew nothing of it."

"Impossible. The Luthors are condemned to life imprisonment for their unapproachable crimes."

Brainy held out a document to the Colonel, who gaped at him.

"He can’t do this..."

"He's doing it right now. Lena Luthor's life is in your hands, Colonel."

For a moment the woman looked desolate. A bitter feeling took hold of her as she thought of the betrayal of her own people the President would be committing.

"Tell us how to access the rooms of Mr. President, Colonel Haley..." Nia pleaded.

"If my calculations are correct, and they are, the sentence for treason to the country is extremely long." Brainy took the paper back and tucked it into his coat. "I believe it's time to choose sides. Are you with us or against your own people? "

The woman was paralyzed, not knowing how to react. Two minutes in silence, being watched by the anxious looks of Nia and Brainy, Colonel Haley composed herself.

"The president has multiple military establishments that even I do not have access to."

"Well, it looks like we'll have to find them."

-

Kara entered J'onn's office.

"Alex is not answering me, I think something happened."

"I need an object to try to locate her."

Kara nodded and handed J'onn a necklace, which Alex wore but forgot about the last time she slept in Kara's apartment. J'onn knelt on the floor, closed his eyes, and concentrated. Kara was silent for the next few minutes, distressed.

-

Lena woke up and everything around her was spinning, it was like she was hungover. Her wrists were tied behind her body, her head aching, and Lena had no idea where she was.

"Lena!" Someone whispered behind her, catching her attention. She turned her head slowly, trying to identify the voice.

"What... Alex?" Suddenly Lena awoke, desperate to let go and see if Alex was all right. Apparently she was stuck too.

"What happened?"

"They got us." Alex whispered. "I'm afraid there are cameras all over here..." She said looking at the cameras in the four corners of the dark room. "Are you hurt?"

Lena quickly self-assessed. "I don’t think so. You?"

"I think I broke my leg when I got knocked off the bike. It hurts like hell."

"Brainy's gonna find us, and Supergirl, too."

"Where are we?"

Before Lena could think of answering, a door opened. Two men in suits entered the room, followed by the President himself.

"Ladies, it's an honor to have you at my house." The man looked around and laughed sadly. "Well, somewhere it’s not actually my house."

"What do you want?" Alex snarled, feeling her blood boil.

"Don’t act like you don’t know, Director Danvers. I know what you two are doing. Too bad you will not complete the mission to destroy the research. I have them here." He held up the briefcase. Alex turned to Lena, worried, but Lena was impassive, even calm. "But it doesn’t mean that we can’t have fun before I publicly accuse you of betrayal."

"Too bad these papers in your hands are not the originals." Lena said finally, arching her eyebrows.

The president's triumphant expression failed for a second. But he was still smiling.

"And I thought I could spare you, little Luthor..." The man approached Lena, reached out to touch the woman's face, which swerved quickly. "You're weak, just like your father. He did not believe aliens were as serious a threat as the 2008 crisis, but here we are... In crisis."

"Annihilate all the aliens and giving power to humans won’t solve a crisis."

"Oh, dear ... It may not solve the crisis, but it will make this nation be great again."

"You're crazy." Alex scoffed.

The President slapped Alex's face impulsively.

"Maybe I am, but it doesn’t matter. Whoever's in power here is me." He turned to face Lena again. "Now tell me... Where are the original documents? Do not make me appeal to the more aggressive methods."

-

"Brainy, can you hear me?" Kara was still flying on the way to the address J'onn had passed.

"Nia and J'onn are on the way. I'm working to access the cameras in the house and locate them. Until then, look for the rooms and the attic."

"Cat gave us access, transmit the images live as soon as we locate."

"Are you sure?" Brainy asked uncertainly.

"Yes, it's our only chance."

Brainy went back to work on the computers, with Haley at her side supervising. About five minutes passed and no cameras had yet located Lena and Alex.

-

The President stopped in front of Lena and stared at her for a few seconds. Then the two guards waiting at the door took her by the arms and laid her down on a table. Alex watched in terror, unable to move, as Lena protested.

"Tell me, Lena Luthor, where are your original searches?" The President asked quietly as Lena protested in the hands of the guards.

"You will never know!"

The guard picked up a bucket of water on the floor, and Alex didn’t like it. For the first time, at that moment, she saw fear in Lena's eyes.

"I knew a few things about you, Lena... I bet you'll know exactly from now on what your mother felt. What's it like to drown, my dear?"

Slowly, the guard began pouring water over Lena's face, which struggled uselessly as she drowned, and Alex watched.

"Stop it!" Alex shouted as Lena agonized on the table. The President turned to Alex, still with his sadistic smile on his face.

"And what are you going to do to stop me, Danvers?"

"There are people looking for us."

"Who? My loyal Colonel? Your little sister and your fellow reporters? I think not…"

At that moment all the water had been poured into Lena, and when it was over, the woman began to cough, panting. The man turned to Lena again.

"I'll ask one more time. Will you cooperate and tell us where the searches are?"

Lena was silent for a few seconds, indicating she wouldn’t say anything. The president nodded and waved at the guard again.

"I can stay here all day."

The guard took another bucket on the floor and did the same. Alex tried to loosen herself in vain as her leg ached and her wrists burned with the contact of the strings. When the water ran out again, the other guard tossed Lena on the floor unscrupulously, kicking the woman's abdomen. Lena coughed again, but this time she coughed blood, the president approached and held one of his feet over Lena's belly, pressing.

"I'd ask if you can stay here all day, but I don’t think you have much choice."

"You won’t get out of this." Alex said angrily.

"But I've already left... After all, I'm the President of the United States, the most powerful man in this country. And with the help of Lex and Lillian Luthor and the deluded Children of Liberty... I'm going to become the most powerful man on this planet."

-

Kara ran down the corridors, scanning every possible room with her x-ray vision, with no success. She couldn’t even hear Lena and Alex's heartbeat. She just hoped it was not too late.

Nia and J'onn arrived in a few minutes, and helped in the search, fighting any guards that would keep them from moving on. The next minute, Brainy announced that they were broadcasting the President live. They had to hurry.

"Lena is in trouble. You need to go down two floors." When Brainy finished speaking, Kara was already two floors below.

Nia and J'onn would follow, if it wasn’t for the guards who surrounded them, loaded with guns.

"You're not going anywhere."

-

"And with the help of Lex and Lillian Luthor and the deluded Children of Liberty... I'm going to become the most powerful man on this planet."

At that moment, one of the walls was broken, announcing the arrival of Supergirl.

"I wouldn’t be so sure of that, Mr. President."

The two guards drew their guns, aimed at Kara, while the President glared at her.

"Look who we have here... Put a finger on me and the world will know who the real villain of history is..."

Supergirl quickly knocked down one of the guards, but before she could reach the second, the President had lifted Lena and held her in front of him, pointing a gun at her head. Kara froze.

"Do you really want to be responsible for her death?" The president smiled, while the other guard positioned himself behind Alex, repeating the president's move, pointing a gun at her as well.

The president lowered his weapon, seeking a control that was attached to his belt. As He pressed the button, a green light illuminated the room and Kara dropped to her knees on the floor.

"I was expecting your visit, Supergirl... Maybe now we can finally find out who you are."

Lena and Alex stared at her, unsure of what to do. The other guard got up and grabbed Kara's arms, setting her on her feet. The president released Lena, who staggered and fell to the ground again.

"I really liked you, Supergirl." The man approached, grabbing Kara's hair. "You protect our country in exchange for nothing. But things have changed: Russia is using alien technology to equip its soldiers, China uses its own to compose its army... But us? The United States gave freedom to the aliens and missed the opportunity to be great. Why not use that technology too?"

"Because it doesn’t belong to you." Kara tried to free herself from the guard, unsuccessfully. "You're not really interested in protecting this country, you just want to annihilate the entire alien population."

"Oh, so you know how to use your brain, Supergirl. Glad you know."

"Your plan won’t work!" Kara said, with a furious look. "I won’t allow it."

"Then I'll have to deal with you." With that, the President punched Kara's face. She managed to free herself from the guard and entered into a body fight with the President, although she was at a great disadvantage, because of the Kryptonite.

Lena finally regained her senses and took advantage of the commotion to loosen the strings of her wrists after some effort. She got up and dropped the guard behind Alex, but the other guard joined in the fight and held her again, pinning her against the wall, while his colleague drew his gun, pointing to her head.

"Lena!" Alex shrieked, catching Kara's attention as she distracted herself and was immobilized by the President, who also drew his weapon, pointing to the weakened Kryptonian's head.

"It's time to end this." The man unlocked his weapon. "What will the world think when I accuse the three of treason? When I’ll accuse you of conspiring against the government?"

Alex was paralyzed. Lena and Supergirl exchanged a look briefly and something roused in Lena. She knew that look from somewhere else. Kara noticed it and smiled, weakly.

"No one would believe that. The whole world is watching us right now." She murmured, almost without strength as blood trickled down her face.

A confused expression struck the President's face as Alex tried not to move in that chair, and Lena stared at Kara without blinking.

"Look around, Mr. President... there are cameras in every corner of this room. It wasn’t difficult to connect them to Catco's satellites. You're live."

"You're bluffing."

The guard pointing the gun at Lena held a hand to his ear, trying to hear something on his communicator. His expression was shock. Kara took advantage of the distraction to make eye contact with Alex, who understood the message.

"Mr. President, it's in all media." The guard threw his weapon away, raising his hands in surrender. Supergirl still faces the President, who seemed to be in an internal conflict. Alex took advantage of the fact that there was no longer a gun pointed at her head and she lunged forward, hitting the president with her body and knocking him down. Two shots echoed in the room, along with a grunt from the President and a scream from Lena. The guard took advantage of the breach to leave the room, running. Kara threw herself to contain the president, who was moving to attack Alex, but she felt that something was wrong.

"Lena!" Alex yelled as she saw Lena lying on the floor, a pool of blood all around her. Kara realized what had happened and a wave of rage and adrenaline took over her body.

Kara stood up and held the President angrily. Nia and J'onn arrived on the spot at that very moment, J'onn ran to the guard who remained in the room, while Nia held the President by the arms, keeping him away from Kara.

"The transmission was cut off." Kara heard Brainy's voice vaguely as she dropped to her knees on the floor again, this time bringing her hand up to her bleeding abdomen.

An DEO team entered the room, too, taking the president and the guard away. J'onn released Alex and turned to Lena, whose shoulder was bleeding, too. Nia knelt beside Kara, who groaned in pain.

"Take Lena and Alex to the hospital now!" She murmured weakly. "I'll be fine."

"Supergirl?" Lena muttered from across the room as J'onn helped her to her feet.

"Hey, Lena..." Kara whispered. "It's going to be okay." Nia held Kara before she hit her head on the floor, losing consciousness at that moment.

"Kara!" Nia screamed, startled, when her friend closed her eyes.

"K... Kara?" Lena exclaimed and stood beside Nia and Kara on the floor, even with the pain in her shoulder and all over her body. Alex, standing next to her, was also shocked.

"Impossible..." Alex said.

"We can talk later." J'onn said, lifting Lena carefully. "Let's go to the DEO."

-

Lena and Alex were taken to the medical bay at the DEO, while Kara was carried into the room with the solar lamps. Quickly, a team removed the projectile from her abdomen and turned on the lamps, causing it to recover instantly.

After three hours, Kara woke up, dizzy and still weak. Her belly still ached, but it was bearable. She looked around and realized she wasn’t alone in the room. Alex sat in a chair, her leg plastered and raised on a bench, and a pair of crutches on the floor beside her.

"Alex?" Kara muttered, catching her attention.

The redhead stared at her in bewilderment for a few seconds.

"How can you be her?"

Kara swallowed, not answering.

"I don’t understand... We fought side by side for so long, how could I not know who you are?"

"You knew." Kara said, making Alex even more confused. She knew it would not be easy to explain, and could end their relationship again, but Kara needed to tell the truth. "You asked J'onn to erase your memories of me when Colonel Haley was coming close to discovering my identity. You did it to protect me. "

Alex was simply amazed, not knowing how to react. It was hard to believe, but she knew it was possible.

"How did I not forget you're my sister?"

"He just erased from your memories any connection Supergirl and Kara Danvers had..." Kara sighed. "It was painful for me, to see you forget a part of me and our history, but you did to protect me... I'm sorry you had to sacrifice yourself for me, Alex."

The redhead sighed, trying to absorb so much information at the same time.

"Can J'onn recover my memories?" Alex asked after a few minutes.

"He might try."

Kara still stared at her anxiously, not knowing how to ask if Alex would accept her like this.

"It's a lot to digest... I don’t know how I allowed you to do this in the past, look at the danger!" Kara laughed at the comment. "But I... I have to accept reality and I will fight to have my memories back. I'm sorry if it hurt, Kara." Alex held out a hand to Kara, who accepted it, anxious.

"I love you Alex, I do it for you."


	5. awake

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hehehe look who's back!
> 
> sorry It took me so long to update, but I have no idea of how continue this story... I have one more chapter ready and I'll update soon, then I'll be open for your ideas, so please let me know what y'all are thinking.
> 
> It's actually hard to write this, now that the season is over and we actually know what happens, but yeah, let's do this

Alex and J'onn were talking in a far corner where Kara and Nia waited for news of Lena. Two hours had passed since Kara had woken up, and Lena was still in surgery. Kara insisted that the Colonel let her stay there waiting with Nia. Pressured by the weight of the scandal with the president, the Colonel gave in, but nothing could relieve the anxiety that Kara felt at that moment.

"Apparently, the congress is going to send someone to stay in command temporarily. New elections will be held." Nia listened to the news on a headset, sporadically.

"That's good, I hope." Kara murmured. She stood up impatiently. "I just need to know if she's okay... I..."

"Kara, she'll be fine."

"I shouldn’t have left her alone."

"It won’t do you any good to blame yourself. You couldn’t guess that this would happen."

Kara buried her face in her hands in exasperation.

"Did I tell you? We'd finally go on a date! And now there's a huge chance she hates me for being Supergirl."

"I do not think she'll hate you." Nia intervened again. "She seems to love Kara Danvers, even if things were not as good as Supergirl, I think she's still going to see you as the person she loves. If not, give her time."

"Thank you Nia..." Kara hugged her friend, being interrupted by a doctor who appeared in the lounge, with a tired expression.

"It took longer than we expected, but the surgery was a success. We did remove the bullet and deal with some more serious injuries, I believe in a few hours she will wake up."

Kara sighed in relief and Nia smiled.

"Can I see her?" Kara asked anxiously.

"She's sleeping, but feel free."

Kara and Alex entered the room first, Lena was pale and asleep. Except for a few serum tubes attached to her arm and a few dressings to show, the damage didn’t seem to be that big, but Kara knew the situation was worse than it looked.

"Brainy said it was ugly... How bad is the situation?"

"He poured water on her face, mentioned something about drowning just like her mother..." Alex paused at the side of the bed with a tired expression. "They hit her, and I couldn’t do anything."

Kara sat in the chair by the bed and took Lena's hand.

"I just wish I could protect her from all this..." Kara murmured sadly. "At this very moment we were supposed to be on a date, now look where we are."

"Are you kidding?!" Alex laughed in surprise. "You and Lena?"

Kara's face turned red as Alex smiled.

"Now I believe it's you."

"Excuse me?"

"You've been talking about her relentlessly in the past few weeks, now I believe it’s really you."

"I... I'm in love with her."

The older woman touched Kara's shoulder and stood there for a few minutes, silently.

"I'm sure she'll be fine. You two will. "

"Thank you, Alex."

-

It was past 3 AM, Alex and Nia were resting in one of the DEO's dorms, Kara hadn’t been able to relax, nor did she leave Lena's side in the medical bay. Kara was silent, sitting at the side of the bed, watching Lena in the faint light from the corridor.

"Rao, I hope you'll forgive me for keeping this secret from you..." Kara muttered as she held the unconscious woman's hand. "I just... I just wanted to keep you safe from this world, from everyone who hates me and would use it to get me..."

Kara sighed, closing her eyes.

"But I failed, and I keep failing..." Kara broke off, hiding her face in her palms. "And apparently I'm talking to myself while you sleep, congratulations, Kara..."

The blonde kept her eyes closed, not realizing that Lena had opened her own.

"I think you did a great job of rescuing us..." Lena muttered hoarsely, a smile at the corner of her mouth. Kara jumped in fright and stared at her for a few seconds, surprised.

"Rao, you're up!" Kara straightened her posture and smiled. "I'm glad you're okay... Do you need something? Some water, or that I turn on the lights... No, it's not a good idea, you should sleep more... who knows you want something to eat or... "

"Kara!" Lena interrupted. "I'm fine, I promise." Kara sighed and Lena reached for her.

"I suspected it was you." Amused at Kara's shock expression, Lena continued. "Glasses and a ponytail... You two have never been in the same place at the same time, among other evidences..."

"So you don’t hate me?"

"At first I felt anger, I admit... The whole story with Reign, Sam... But you kept trying to reach me after that... No one had ever insisted on me so much."

Kara gently squeezed Lena's hand, a tender expression on her face.

"I would never give up on you."

"I would never hate you, Kara. I'm too in love with you for that."

A tear trickled down Kara's face.

"I was so afraid of not being there in time... I can’t lose you, Lena."

"You are not going to lose me."

Kara closed her eyes and nodded, breathing deep to compose.

"You should sleep some more... How's your shoulder?"

Lena turned her head to see her shoulder and arm completely immobilized.

"It hurts, but I can bear it."

Kara began stroking Lena's hair, softly. The two of them faced each other in silence, until Lena began to fall asleep and Kara smiled.

"I'm so glad you're safe..." Kara whispered, leaning over and kissing Lena's forehead, which had just fallen asleep. "I love you."

-

Early in the morning, Alex entered the room where Lena was resting and Kara slept in a chair. Hearing the clicks of the crutches on the floor, Kara woke up alert.

"It's me, Kara." Alex muttered. "Did you sleep here?"

Kara looked around and shrugged. Alex rolled her eyes and sat down in the chair across the room.

"How are you?" Alex asked, casting a curious glance at Kara.

"I'm fine, but..." Kara stood up, her hands cupping her waist and sighing. "I'm worried. What will happen now that the man has been arrested? What's going to happen to you and Lena? "

"I'm sure Lena and I will be fine. But I understand you, I'm afraid to know who will be in charge. Lockwood has not spoken, but I'm sure he'll lose his job. The Elite didn’t show signs of life, yet. I hope we have time to recover."

"Did you talk to J'onn?" Kara asked curiously.

"He said he can try to enter my mind to search for memories, but not everything will be recovered."

"Ask him to help you remember my favorite movie, please." Kara teased, breaking the heavy mood in the room.

"It was only once, Kara..." Alex laughed, covering her face with her hands.

"I'll get something to eat. I'll be back in 5 minutes." Kara said, standing up. Before Alex could reply, Kara was gone. Lena awoke at that moment with the noise.

"Hey..." Lena said. "How's your leg?"

Alex shifted in her chair.

"I can’t use it for a while. How are you?"

"Wounded..." Lena sighed. "With more fear than you can imagine."

"What he did was cruel." Alex broke off, swallowing. "If you need anything, anything... Talk to me, Lena."

"It's more complex than you think."

Alex nodded.

"Just don’t isolate yourself, please. I know you're used to dealing with your own problems, but let me help you, let Kara help you."

Lena nodded, silently, with a few tears threatening to fall. Alex approached the bed and smiled.

"So you and my little sister..."

"Oh gosh! I didn’t expect to have this conversation anytime soon." Lena blushed, quickly changing mood.

"I'm glad you guys have figured it out." Alex smiled.

"I really like her, a lot, Alex."

"And don’t I know? I had to see you two carrying this tension between you for months!"

"Rao, this is a conversation I don’t want to be part of..." Kara entered the room, carrying coffee and a packet of donuts.

"Me too, but it's not like I have a choice." Lena murmured, ashamed.

Kara approached the bed, kissing Lena's face and handing Alex's and Lena's coffee.

"They said you should feed yourself normally." Kara opened the tray with the donuts. "And my job is to make sure that happens."

"I'm honored to get so much attention from Supergirl." Lena teased, making Kara blush.

"It's my pleasure." Kara smiled at Lena and Alex interrupted, pretending to choke on something.

"Let me have my coffee before you make me see that."

Kara laughed and shook her head, taking a sip of her coffee.

"You're so dramatic, Alex."

The three of them drank coffee amid taunts and laughter, until a doctor interrupted them to examine Lena, releasing her to rest at home for a few days before returning to work.

"I know you're perfectly capable of taking care of yourself, but-" Kara sighed anxiously. "I would be much calmer if you let me take care of you."

"That would be good. Thank you, Kara."

"Come on then." Kara wrapped an arm around Lena's back and helped her up, slowly. "Frank is waiting for you. I'm flying up to your building, making sure everything's okay."

When Frank stopped the car in front of Lena's building, Kara was already waiting for her, wearing mundane clothes and her famous pair of glasses.

 


End file.
